


Pandora's Box

by trixiethepixie1234



Category: Back to the Future (Movies)
Genre: AU, F/M, Falling In Love, Forbidden Love, Love Potion/Spell, Lust Potion/Spell, Time Travel, Timeline Confusion
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-08
Updated: 2016-11-30
Packaged: 2018-08-29 20:13:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8503789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trixiethepixie1234/pseuds/trixiethepixie1234
Summary: An AU where Jennifer goes back to 1955 instead of Marty and has to ensure his parents fall in love.





	1. Prelude

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is my first ever fan fiction, so be gentle in your feedback! I hope to improve my writing skills, so hopefully the quality will get better, chapter by chapter. Thanks for reading!  
> This is an AU where Jennifer goes back in time, interferes with Marty's parent's fist meeting, and has to get them to fall in love, with the help of Doc Brown.  
> I wasn't quite sure how to "rate" this work, but it's mostly pretty clean - roughly equal to the movies. However, there will be inappropriate sections, so I'll let you know before those so you can skip them if you want (I'll summarize below).  
> I'm a big fan of BTTF, but my knowledge is a bit limited, so please don't get angry at me for accidentally diverging from cannon. I've only seen the movies, and I've done my best to keep it as accurate as I could.  
> I've moved Doc's age a bit - apparently it's anywhere between 41-33 in 1955 (differences in novel, game and animation), meaning he was born between 1914-1922. I've lowered his age to 27 in '55 - meaning he was born in 1928. I've also increased Jennifer's age to 18 for this fic.  
> Also: "Prelude" is very similar to to the first part of the movie, with a few changes the alter the nature of the story. "Chapter 1" is where the major differences can be seen.  
> Again, thanks for reading!  
> P.S Re Jennifer's personality: I really struggled with this aspect, as Jennifer is a relatively minor character in terms of screen time. I've decided to use this, and the fact that she is largely defined by her relationship with Marty, as an aspect of her persona, as she realises her dependence on him in defining her. Based on her few scenes, she seemed a bit cheeky and quite smart - characteristics I have emphasised. I've also given her an interest in both science and history as it was quite fitting for the story and those are also topics I myself am interested in (and therefore enjoy writing about). Anyway, you'll find out more about that later. Enjoy! :)

Jennifer Parker was yanked from her dreams by the ringing of the telephone at 12:29 On Friday night – or, rather, Saturday morning. She blinked several times and then rolled over so that she could sit up on the edge of the bed. Reaching towards her bedside table, her eyes still bleary with sleep, and fumbled around in the darkness to find her phone.  
“Hello?” her voice sounded dry and crackly. She coughed and tried again. “Hello?” Much better.  
“Jennifer?” It was Marty. A small smile draw Jennifer’s lips upwards, despite her annoyance at having been woken in the middle of the night.  
“Marty? Is everything okay?” she asked.  
She could hear it in his voice that everything seemed alright, but nevertheless she breathed a small sigh of relief when he said, “Yes, of course, everything’s fine. Sorry for waking you.”  
“That’s alright.”  
“Did I wake your grandmother?” he asked, concerned.  
She smiled at his thoughtfulness. “No, she’s as deaf as a post. That woman could sleep through anything.” She hesitated for a moment. “What’s up?”  
“Look, Jennifer,” Marty began, “I need you to do me a favour.”  
“Sure, what is it?”  
She could hear him take in a breath at the other end of the phone. “Your grandma lives near Twin Pines Mall, right?”  
“Yeah, right near the centre of town. Why?”  
“I was wondering if you could stop my Doc’s lab, and bring his video camera to the mall. There’s a key under the mat.” Marty’s speech was growing faster and faster, as if he was afraid of being cut off by her rejection of the idea. “He asked me to go, and believe me, I would have gone, but I’m just so tired. My dad lent the car to Biff, and he completely wrecked it, so I’d have to ride my board, and it’s just such a long way for me, and seeing as you’re so close and Doc’s lab is on your way – it really shouldn’t take more than an hour, tops. I’m really sorry to ask you this but- ”   
“Marty!” she laughed. “It’s fine! What time do I need to be there?”  
“Quarter past one. The camera should be on the desk. I’m really sorry, Jennifer. I’m just not feeling up to it. He’ll probably just have you film something, and when it doesn’t work, he’ll moan to you for a few minutes and then you can come home.”  
“Alright.” Jennifer was already reaching for her blue jacket and floral jeans. It was a fairly cold night outside, so she just dressed over her pyjama top and tracksuit pants. It felt bulky, but she couldn’t tell – through observation, at least – that she was wearing extra layers.   
“Thanks, Jennifer. I love you.”  
“I love you too Marty. See you later.” With that, she hung up.

***

Jennifer had been right to put on her extra layers. The night air was freezing, and choked her throat like an iron fist. By the time she’d run from her grandma’s place – being careful to take the old woman’s keys so she could get back inside – to Doc’s lab, her chest was burning but her cheeks were numb with cold. Taking the key from under the mat, just where Marty said it would be, Jennifer stepped inside.  
“Wow,” she said, although “Wow” just didn’t seem to cover it. The lab was a mess, sure – the obliterated bookshelves and broken chairs were strewn everywhere, but there seemed to be a method to the madness. The wall of clocks ticked patiently, showing that it was now 12:35 in the morning.  
She checked her own watch. “They’re twenty five minutes slow,” she whispered. She might have doubted her own watch’s timekeeping, but she knew that it had been much more than the six minutes since Marty had called to get here. On the bench, lay a large camera, which she hoisted over her shoulder. Stepping over a large chunk of what had once been some sort of wooden cube, Jennifer made her way out into the night once more.

***

The mall car park was deserted when she came running in, the black tarmac looking wet and cold from the dew of the night. A big white truck and a big white dog both sat there. The latter jumped up, wagging his tail and barking, as Jennifer drew close.  
She recognised the dog. “Einstein!” she grinned, reaching down to pat him. “Who’s a good boy? Who’s a good boy!” The dog barked and leaped up, leaving soggy paw prints on her jacket in his attempts to lick her face. Jennifer just laughed and stroked the top of his head.   
As she did so, the back of the van opened, and as if by magic, a car rolled from the back in a cloud of mist. Jennifer’s mouth fell wide open, as the door to the DeLorean opened, and the Doc jumped out, in another cloud of steam.  
“Jennifer!” Doc seemed very surprised to see her.  
“Hi, Doc,” she said, somewhat awkwardly. She’d only met the inventor a few times, and had never really spoken to him. He’d always seemed so much more interested in Marty and showing him his latest experiments.   
There was a brief, awkward pause. “What are you doing here?” he eventually said.  
“Didn’t Marty tell you?” The Doc shook his head, and Jennifer rolled her eyes. “Typical. Well, he’s not coming – he’s tired, and his dad’s car was in an accident, so he sent me instead.” Another pause. “I brought your camera,” she said, holding it up, as if for inspection.  
The sight of it seemed to bring Doc back to his usual self. “Right!” He clapped his hands together and rubbed them vigorously. “Roll tape!”  
“Doc?” Jennifer asked, “What’s going on-?”  
“All of your questions will be answered, don’t you worry. Roll tape!” he repeated. Jennifer started the camera and held it to her eye.  
“Good evening,” said the Doc, “I’m Doctor Emmett Brown. I'm standing on the parking  
lot of Twin Pines Mall. It's Saturday morning, October 26, 1985, 1:18 a.m. and this is temporal experiment number one. C'mon, Einy! Hey boy, get in there, ‘atta boy! In you go, hop in, that's it.” Jennifer moved in closer to get a clear shot of the action.  
“Please note,” Doc continued, “that Einstein's clock is in complete synchronization with my control watch.”  
As he said this, both clocks ticked over to 1:19.   
“Got it,” said Jennifer.  
Doc smiled at her, and Jennifer couldn’t help but feel a bit proud, as if she was proving herself to be just as good an assistant as Marty was. When she’d arrived she’d felt a bit like a poor substitute.  
“Have a good trip Einstein, watch your head.” Doc firmly shut the DeLorean door. He fiddled with a small remote control in his hands, and the car whizzed away.  
“Wow!” said Jennifer, although for the second time that night, “Wow” just didn’t cut the mustard. “Is that thing remote controlled?”  
Doc Brown wasn’t paying attention – he was watching where she aimed the camera. “Not me! The car! The car!” She quickly moved the lens back to focus on the DeLorean.   
It flew back, tired screaming in protest, until it stood at the opposite end of the car park.   
He looked down at Jennifer with a conspiratorial smile. “If my calculations are correct,” he said, “When this baby hits eighty-eight miles per hour, you’re gonna see some serious shit.”  
Jennifer let out a small laugh, although it quickly died down to a whimper as she saw the car’s tires were spinning furiously, and the vehicle was aimed right at them!  
As Doc flipped the switch and the car began to move, she edged out of the way. “Watch this! Watch this!” he said.  
As the car grew closer and closer, and Jennifer’s heart beat faster and faster, she noticed strange lights flashing and orbiting around it. As it reached them, there was a blinding flash of light, a boom, and when Jennifer opened her eyes again, nothing but two fire trails and a spinning number plate remained.   
She turned to look behind her, but there was nothing.   
“What did I tell you? Eighty-eight miles per hour!” Doc cried, waving his hands in the air and jumping up and down like an excited child. “The temporal displacement occurred at exactly 1:20 a.m. and zero seconds!”  
“What the hell?” choked out Jennifer. “Doc, what just happened? Where’s Einstein? Where the hell is the car?”  
“The appropriate question is, when are they. Einstein has just become the world's first time traveler. I sent him into the future. One minute into the future, to be exact. And at exactly 1:21 a.m. we should catch up with him and the time machine.”  
Jennifer felt weak at the knees. Her legs didn’t seem to want to support her anymore. Seeing how pale and shaken she looked, Doc grabbed her by the arm and held her up.  
“You built a time machine?” she whispered, her green eyes like saucers staring searchingly into his.  
“Out of a DeLorean,” he smiled. “The way I see it, if you’re gonna build a time machine, might as well do it with some style! Besides, the stainless, steel construction made the flux dispersal-” The clock beeped, and the Doc hoisted Jennifer out of the way. “Look out!”   
In a blinding flash of light, the car returned, skidding to a stop. Both parties stood, amazed, for several long moments. Eventually, Doc rushed over to it, and let out a cry of pain as he touched the door.   
“Is it hot?” asked Jennifer.  
“Cold,” answered Doc. “Damn cold.” He opened the door with his foot, and laughed. “Einstein, you little devil! Look at this - Einstein's clock is exactly one minute behind mine, and it's still ticking!”  
“He’s alive,” breathed Jennifer, still feeling lightheaded.  
“He's fine, and he's completely unaware that anything happened. As far as he's concerned the trip was instantaneous. That's why Einstein's watch is exactly one minute behind mine. He skipped over that minute to instantly arrive at this moment in time.” He gestured over to her. “Come here, I'll show you how it works.” Jennifer slowly approached, taking each step very carefully. Doc was grinning from ear to ear as he pointed out the flashing lights, dials and displays to her. “First, you turn the time circuits on. This readout tell you where you're going, this one tells you where you are, this one tells you where you were.” He punctuated each description with a jab of his finger. Jennifer’s numb hands still clung to the camera, which she aimed carefully – if a little shakily – at each feature. Doc Brown went on; “You input the destination time on this keypad. Say, you want to see the signing of the declaration of independence, or witness the birth or Christ.” He typed in a date for each.  
Jennifer took in a breath, but decided against telling the Doc that Christ wasn’t actually born in the year “zero” as there was no year “zero”, only a year “one”, and besides, Jesus was believed to have actually been born in September of the third or fourth year Anno Domini, and as the DeLorean only seemed to transport through time, they’d have to go to Bethlehem to see that. She had a history quiz on Monday, and she normally did quite well, but she quite liked to revise, as she didn’t mind history, as far as her subjects went. Marty hated it – he seemed to think it was a waste of time, so Jennifer didn’t really talk to him about it.  
The Doc was still talking. “Here's a red-letter date in the history of science, November 5, 1955.” He paused, smiling. “Yes, of course, November 5, 1955.”  
“What happened then?” inquired Jennifer.  
“That was the day I invented time travel,” he smiled. “I remember it vividly. I  
was standing on the edge of my toilet hanging a clock, the porcelain was wet, I slipped, hit my head on the edge of the sink. And when I came to I had a revelation, a picture, a picture in my head, a picture of this.” He pointed to a large series of fluxing lights. “This is what makes time travel possible. The flux capacitor.”  
“Wo-” Halfway, Jennifer decided against saying “Wow” again. “The flux capacitor,” she said, instead.  
“It's taken me almost thirty years and my entire family fortune to realize the vision of that day.” He broke off, as if surprised at himself. “My God, has it been that long? Things have certainly changed around here. I remember when this was all farmland as far as the eye could see. Old man Peabody owned all of this. He had this crazy idea about breeding pine-”  
“How does it work?” asked Jennifer, who was beginning to feel better. “The flux capacitor, how does it work?”  
“Well, it does require a small kick – one-point-twenty-one gig watts, which is then-”  
“Where do you get that much power?”  
“Plutonium,” said the Doc.  
“Nuclear energy!” cried Jennifer, almost tripping over her feet in an attempt to get away. Doc grabbed her by the arm before she could do so.   
“It’s lead lined,” he assured her.   
Jennifer shook her head, eyes wide. “Where did you get it?”  
“From a group of Libyan Nationalists. They wanted me to build them a bomb, so  
I took their plutonium and in turn gave them a shoddy bomb case full of used pinball machine parts!”  
Jennifer started to laugh, and laugh. It was one of those moments where you could either laugh or cry, and Jennifer chose to laugh slightly hysterically.  
“Come on! Let's get you into a radiation suit, we must prepare to reload,” said Doc.  
Once they had reloaded, Jennifer asked, “How much plutonium for one trip?”  
“One pellet.” He paused, brows furrowing. “That reminds me, put those in the back,” he said, gesturing to the case. “I don’t want to get stuck without a way home!”   
Jennifer picked up the case and heaved it over, as if trying to prove she could be just as helpful as Marty was. With a grunt, she tucked it under the passenger seat.   
“And my suitcase!” Doc cried, I almost forgot my luggage. Who knows if they've got cotton underwear in the future. I'm allergic to all synthetics.”  
“The future?” whispered Jennifer.  
“Twenty five years into the future. I’ll be able to see the progress of mankind, looking far beyond my years!”  
“Don’t forget to pay me a visit,” smiled Jennifer.  
“Sure,” replied the Doc. “You still rolling?”   
She nodded, having kept the video camera glued to the Doc the whole time.   
He cleared his throat and looked to the camera. “I, Doctor Emmett Brown, am about to embark on an historic journey-”  
Einstein suddenly began barking madly from the window of the van.   
“What is it, Einy?” asked Doc, whose eyes grew wide as he saw what the dog was barking at. “Oh my god, they found me, I don't know how but they found me. Run for it, Jennifer!”  
“Who?” she cried.  
“The Libyans!” he screamed.  
A Combie van flew into view, the Libyans crying and yelling out as they began to fire across the car park. Jennifer let out a piercing scream and ducked behind the DeLorean. Meanwhile. They drew up to Doc, and riddled him with holes. Jennifer screamed out again, and the Libyans turned to him. She threw herself into the DeLorean, slammed the door shut, and flew off, with her foot glues to the gas. The Libyans pursued, hot on her trail, firing all the time.   
“Come on, come on,” urged Jennifer as she flew towards the car park exit. She wiped her tears with her left hand, surprised to find that she’d been crying. As she soared onto the main road, she noticed a blinding light surrounding the windscreen, a flash, and then nothing but darkness.

***

Lou’s café was quiet for this time on a Saturday morning. Jennifer ducked gratefully inside, unsure that her legs could support her any longer. She received a strange glance from the man she presumed to be Lou, as he looked her up and down.  
“You going to a fancy dress party or something?”  
She looked up at him, startled. “What?”  
“Well, why’re you wearing those strange clothes?” he asked.   
She sat down at the counter. “Oh, yeah,” she murmured. “That’s right. A party tonight. A dress up party.”  
Breathing raggedly, she said; “Excuse me, but what’s the date today?”  
“Why, the fifth of November, of course.”  
Jennifer placed her forearms of the counter, and leaned in closer to Lou, who copied her stance. “What year?”  
He leaned away and let out a snort. “What a question!”  
“I’m serious,” she whispered. “What year?”  
“Nineteen fifty five, of course!” Lou chuckled.   
Jennifer had suspected as such as soon as she’d reached town. Posters for fifty cent movies, and old records stood everywhere, while vintage cars drove immaculate roads. However, Jennifer had known that something was up as soon as she’d been enveloped in darkness, back in the DeLorean, and run into a field of pine trees, and then a barn. She hadn’t stopped, even then, just revered out, tearing chunks from the DeLorean’s metal frame as she’d done so. She ran into another pine on her way out, and just kept driving, wildly denting and damaging the car until it had run out of gas, a few miles from town, where she’d hidden it behind a cluster of pine trees. Stripping from her radiation suit, she’d left it in the car, and began to walk towards Hill Valley.  
Still, now that the date was confirmed she felt her head begin to spin wildly.   
“Hey, kid, you okay?” asked the man who may or may not have been Lou.   
“I’m fine,” she whispered, and then, more quietly. “This must be a dream.” She looked up, an idea formulating. “Can I use your phone?”  
“It’s in the back.”  
Jennifer flicked trough the phone book, until she found Doc’s number. She called, but as there was no reply she tore the page from the book with his address on it.  
“Do you know where 1640 Riverside-” she asked.  
“Look, are you gonna order something, kid?” asked Maybe-Lou.  
“Sorry,” said Jennifer. “Can I have a coffee?”  
He poured her one, just as the door was flung open. “Hey, McFly!”  
“Marty!” thought Jennifer, looking across to see who the boy was taking to. To her surprise, a very young version of Marty’s dad sat next to her. She looked behind her, to see who called out, and groaned as she saw that it was Biff, who Marty hated.   
“Hey, I'm talking to you, McFly, you Irish bug,” snapped Biff, walking over with his cronies to where George sat.  
“Oh hey, Biff, hey, guys, how are you doing?” said George.  
“Yeah, you got my homework finished, McFly?”  
“Uh, well, actually, I figured since it wasn't due till Monday-”  
Biff rapped on George’s head with his fist. “Hello, hello, anybody home? Think, McFly, think. I gotta have time to recopy it. Do you realize what would happen if I hand in my homework in your handwriting?  
I'd get kicked out of school. You wouldn't want that to happen would you?” George didn’t reply. “Would you?” repeated Biff, menacingly.   
“Now, of course not, Biff, now, I wouldn't want that to happen…”  
Biff turned to look at the wide eyed Jennifer. “What’re you looking at-?” he began, then stopped, seeing Jennifer’s face. “Well, hello there,” he grinned, leaning in close. “What’s your name?”  
Jennifer could feel his sour breath on her throat. “I have to go,” she said, jumping up.  
“Oh no no no!” said Biff, grabbing her hand to stop her from leaving. “You’re not going anywhere.”  
At that moment, Maybe-Lou thankfully reappeared, and with one death-glare from him, Biff let her go. Jennifer dashed out of the door, heart pounding. She had to find Doc.  
Only few moments later, George ran out, and began to cycle away. As he was the only other familiar face, Jennifer thought that she could at least ask him for directions.  
“George!” she yelled, as he cycled away, “George McFly!”  
She followed him on foot, panting and cursing under her breath. She eventually caught up to his bike, leaned against a tree. She looked up to see George looking through binoculars into the house across the street.  
“Pervert,” she muttered under her breath.  
As George moved further up the tree, he slipped and fell, landing in the middle of the road. A car approached at considerable speed.  
“No!” cried Jennifer, running to push him out of the way and knocking him over, out of the path of the car. She scraped her knees badly, tearing bloody holes in her jeans, and long scraped down her forearms, but at least the two of them were safe. George jumped up after a moment, and ran off. Jennifer panted, relief flooding her body after the lucky escape.   
“Are you okay?” asked the driver, climbing out of the car. “I’m Sam Baines. Who are you?”  
The name Baines sounded vaguely familiar, but Jennifer didn’t pay much mind to it. “I’m Jennifer,” she said. “Jennifer Parker.”  
“Are you alright, Miss Parker?” he asked, helping her up.   
“Those are some nasty cuts. STELLA!” he suddenly yelled. “COME HELP ME!”  
“Really, I’m fine,” said Jennifer. “Do you know where this address is?” she held up her scrap of paper.  
Sam nodded. “It’s on the other side of town, a block past Maple. East end of town.”  
“Oh, John F. Ken-” Jennifer stopped herself. “Nevermind. Thanks.”  
An older, heavily pregnant woman – presumably Stella, came out of the house with a girl of about Jennifer’s age at her heels.  
It was Marty’s mother.

***

The mansion was huge – the driveway felt like an eternity to Jennifer. To be fair, she’d run all the way there, and was tired and exhausted with cramps in her legs and side. She just wanted to wake up and find out that this was all a dream. Regardless, she pushed on, and finally made it to Doc’s stained glass door, where she knocked twice.   
The scientists opened the door, a large metal headset on his head, his eyes wild.   
“Doc?” she asked.  
“Don’t say a word,” he said, dragging her inside by the arm. “I don't wanna know your name. I don't wanna know anything about you.”  
Jennifer looked around wildly. “Doc, it’s me, Jennifer.”  
“Don’t tell me anything!”  
“Doc, please, I need your help.”  
“Quiet, quiet. I'm gonna read your thoughts.” He plugged a suction cup to Jennifer’s forehead. “Let's see now…you've come from a great distance?”   
“Exactly! Yes, Doc!”  
He quickly interrupted her. “Don't tell me! Uh, you want me to buy a subscription to the Saturday Evening Post?”  
“No, Doc!” Jennifer cried, desperately.   
“You want me to-”  
But before he could continue, Jennifer butted in, ripping the suction cup from her forehead. “Doc, I'm from the future. I came here in a time machine that you invented. Now, I need your help to get back to the year 1985.”  
“My god, do you know what this means?” His face suddenly changed from joyous to furious. “It means that this damn thing doesn't work at all!”  
“Doc, please,” Jennifer pleaded. “I think I broke it. It’s definitely out of fuel – I think I broke something in the engine when I smashed back out of that barn. And I definitely heard something tear off when I crashed into that pine tree.”  
Doc shook his head. “Time machine, I haven't invented any time machine…”  
“Okay, alright, I'll prove it to you. Look at my driver's license, look!” she pulled out her wallet and showed it to him. “Look! I haven’t even been born yet! Look at this picture, of my boyfriend and I! He’s wearing his senior year sweatshirt – 1985!”   
Doc examined the picture, and then shook his head derisively. “Pretty mediocre photographic fakery, they cut off your boyfriend’s hair.”   
“Please, Doc, you have to believe me!”  
“So tell me, future girl, who’s president of the United States in 1985?”   
“Ronald Regan!”  
“The actor!” Doc scoffed. “Then who's vice president, Jerry Lewis? I suppose Jane Wymann is the first lady!”  
Doc began to pick up reams of paper and run across the lawn, as Jennifer ran after him, pleading for him to listen to her. Her legs were just about ready to give way at this point.   
When he got to his workshop, he looked back to Jennifer through the ajar door. “I got enough practical jokes for one evening. Good night, future girl.”  
“No!” Jennifer yelled, on the verge of tears. “Please, Doc. Look! The bruise on your head, I know how  
that happened, you told me the whole story. You were standing on your toilet and you were hanging a clock, and you fell, and you hit your head on the sink, and that's when you came up with the idea for the flux capacitor, which makes time travel possible.”  
Doc flung open the door again, his eyes wide in amazement. Jennifer let out a sigh of relief. 

***

They drove out to the cluster of pine trees where Jennifer had hidden it. “It’s outta gas,” she explained, groaning with inward pleasure at being able to finally sit down for more than five minutes, as the Doc’s car bumped along the road. “I think I might have broken a few things – I had quite a shock, and I was being chased, and-”  
“It’s quite alright,” said Doc, “I should hopefully be able to make swift repairs. As long as the parts have been invented, of course.”  
“Is that likely?” Jennifer asked, filling with a sense of cold dread.  
“It’s a possibility,” conceded Doc. “Don’t worry, I will do everything I can.”  
Jennifer had almost dozed off by the time they reached the car. “There!” she shouted suddenly. “It’s behind those trees.”  
Doc pulled over, and they went to examine the badly dented car. It looked as if a piece of tinfoil had been scrunched into a ball. Doc heaved open the door, and the turned to Jennifer.  
“After I fell off my toilet, I drew this,” he said, holding up a picture of the flux capacitor.  
“That’s it,” said Jennifer.   
Doc’s face split into a wide grin. “It works,” he laughed, “It works! I finally invent something that works!”  
Jennifer nodded with a sigh. “Damn right it works.”  
“Well, now we gotta sneak this back into my laboratory. We've gotta get you home!”

***

Back in Doc’s lab/garage, they watched the tape Jennifer had made. Jennifer explained about the Plutonium to the Doctor, whose eyebrows were raised so high it looked as though they were about to jump off his face.  
Jennifer was able to appreciate, finally, a true comparison of the 80s Doc to the 50s Doc. Both has a shock of wild white hair, and big brown eyes, but 50s Doc had tamed his mane somewhat, and was fresh-faced and much more lithe than his older counterpart.  
“I hope I’ve got all the parts,” mused Doc. “Otherwise, you may be stuck here, permanently.”  
“What?” said Jennifer. “No! I can’t stay here, I have to get home. I’ve got my dad, my grandmother, I have a life back in 1985. I have a boyfriend.”  
“Do you love him?” asked the Doc. It seemed a strangely poignant question.  
“Of course,” Jennifer replied, offhandedly. “We’re in love. So, you see, I have to get back!”  
“It could take a while to repair,” warned the Doctor.  
Jennifer sighed. “Well, that’s alright. I don’t mind hanging around in the 50s for a while, you can show me around-”  
“Jennifer, that's completely out of the question, you must not leave this house. You must not see anybody or talk to anybody. Anything you do could have serious repercussions on future events. Do you understand?”  
Jennifer’s eyes grew wide. “Uh-oh.”  
“What, what is it?” demanded Doc.  
“I ran into Marty’s parents. Marty’s my boyfriend, and your friend, from the future.”  
“Great Scott! Let me see that photograph again of your boyfriend.” He examined the snapshot. “Just as I thought, this proves my theory, look at Marty!”   
“The top of his head’s gone! He’s being erased!” Jennifer’s heart thudded with pure panic. “I remember now, Mart told me – they met when Loraine’s father hit George with the car! And I pushed him out of the way! Oh no, no, no!”  
Doc’s brows were furrowed deeply. “You haven’t talked to anyone else?”  
Jennifer wracked her brain. “No, not really.”  
“You haven’t run into your parents?”  
“My parents didn’t move to Hill Valley until after they were married in 1958.”  
The Doctor looked stoically upwards. “You have to get Marty’s parents to meet and fall in love. Otherwise-”  
“Otherwise he’ll be erased,” finished Jennifer.

***


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Doc and Jennifer discuss scientists and how best to orchestrate Loraine and George's courtship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is where the actual story really begins! If you wanted to start reading here, you probably could, and just pick up on everything else from context clues. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 1:

“So, what do we do first?” asked Jennifer. She was lying on the badly dented roof of the DeLorean, tossing a tennis ball against the ceiling. Catching the ball in her right hand, she rolled over to look at the Doc.  
He had a pair of big round aviation goggles on, and was brandishing an arc welder. The lab was a mess once again, with various bits and pieces of equipment scattered over a large workbench. Doc had explained that most of the pieces that had been damaged or broken could be replaced with a 1950s counterpart, except for the piston and the piston rings, which they’d have to make themselves, hence the large sheets of scrap metal of various sizes that littered the room.   
“First,” said the Doc, “We need to open her up and remove all of the damaged components. Then, before we can fix and replace them, we’ll need to sort out this frame.”  
Jennifer resumed bouncing the ball against the ceiling. She chewed on her lip, debating whether or not to bring up the subject she had so unsuccessfully breached the previous night.   
For a split second, Jennifer almost summed up the courage to do it, to try once more to tell him about that night in 1985, but a moment later her doubts assailed her. Last night she hadn’t been tactful, careful. She couldn’t make that mistake again. She had to be smart about it.  
“Don’t tell me!” he’d yelled at her as they raced around the living room, with her begging him to stop and listen, and him shouting at the top of his lungs with his hands over his ears. “Anything you tell me could seriously endanger my future existence, just as you have endangered Marty’s!”  
“But Doc, this is important!” she cried. “Please, just listen for a second!”  
She tried to corner him, but he dashed around the dining room table, moving sideways so that they were always opposite each other, never taking his wide brown eyes from her face.   
Eventually, she’d stopped. She knew that she’d need a clever way – a trick to ensure that Doc could prevent his own death. The only problem was that she would need to tell him so in such a way that it didn’t affect his life. I could go back a week or so before, and tell him then, Jennifer reasoned, but what if he won’t hear it then, either? What if he still won’t listen to me?  
“What can I do to help?” asked Jennifer, sitting up on the roof, and tucking her legs underneath her.  
Doc Brown blinked from behind his goggles. “You can get off of there, for a start,” he said. “I can’t imagine that you’re doing the dents any favors.”  
“Thanks,” replied Jennifer, as sarcastically as she could. “You’re so sweet.” She jumped down off the roof.   
Doc didn’t seem to notice, or at least, he didn’t respond. He merely stepped around Jennifer and began to mark out areas of the car with the welder. It only took about five minutes before he picked up the circular saw. Meanwhile, Jennifer had placed the large metal contraption that Doc had tried to read her thoughts with, and was pacing around the room. She paused to look up at the wall.  
“Why do you have pictures of scientists everywhere?” she asked curiously.  
The sound of the saw died down to a soft whine. “They’re my inspiration.”  
“Some of these I get,” said Jennifer. “But why Edison?” She picked up the framed photograph to examine it more closely.  
“Why?” asked Doc, “Are you more of a Tesla girl?”  
“Of course!” said Jennifer. “He was the best!”  
Doc removed his goggles and raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t he try to build a death ray?”  
Jennifer sighed and batted her eyelashes in an exaggerated fashion, as she clutched the picture to her chest as if she were a schoolgirl with an armful of books. “I know,” she cooed, “Isn’t he a dream?”  
Doc snorted with laughter and put his goggles back on. It was the first time Jennifer had really heard him laugh, and she couldn’t help but think that it suited him. She put the photo back where it had come from, and began pacing exaggeratedly around the room, trying to step on only every third floorboard.   
“I’ll run by the library later,” she yelled, over the sounds of the saw, “And get you a picture of Tesla instead.”  
“No way!” shouted back Doc, “DC beats AC!”  
“Are you serious?!” Jennifer cried, affronted. “AC any day of the week!”  
Doc stopped sawing to look at her. After a moment, he killed the power to the drill. “You’re infuriating,” was all he said, but there was affection behind it.  
“How about this,” Jennifer said, picking up a large sparking cable from a socket in the wall. “Two hundred and forty volts of each, and we’ll see who the winner is.”  
He snorted. “Foolish idea. They’re both equally dan-”  
“Equally dangerous,” Jennifer chorused. “Exactly. Rendering Edison’s propaganda against AC completely moot!”  
Realizing he’d been tricked, Doc had to fight to keep a smile from his face. He put his goggles on his forehead – which had the added bonus of keeping his hair held back from his face – and began to walk towards Jennifer.   
“DC is more commonly used in household appliances,” he countered. “AC needs to be converted.”  
“Transformers,” refuted Jennifer, “AC has very little power loss compared to DC.”  
“Tesla was in love with a pigeon!”  
Jennifer shook her head. “Cheap shot. Edison murdered a menagerie to try and prove his whole “danger” point.”  
“Edison invented the light bulb.”  
“Edison stole credit for the light bulb,” corrected Jennifer. They were getting closer now – each moving towards the other as they argued.  
“He was an inventor.”  
“He was a businessman,” said Jen. “He stole credit, and used slander and propaganda just to make money. It’s not fair. Westinghouse, who paid Tesla twice what Edison offered him – which was actually “a joke” – and Edison is remembered as one of the more important inventors of all time, while Westinghouse gets to be a fridge!” She’d started talking louder and faster without realizing it. Both had stopped walking, inches from each other. The tension was palpable.   
Doc looked confused at these statements. “Right,” Jennifer conceded. “I guess that the company hasn’t been created yet.” She paused for a second. “Tesla gets to be a brand of car, though, so I guess that’s alright. If I were to have a car named after me, I’d want it to be a Ferrari. Why didn’t you make this out of a Ferrari, anyway?” she asked, gesturing to the DeLorean. “We’d be at eighty-eight in no time!”  
The Doctor just smiled. “How about this,” he began. “If you help me fix this, I’ll let you replace Edison with Tesla.”  
“Yes!” grinned Jennifer. “Your wall of science can finally be complete! Who else have you got up there?”  
The inventor didn’t even need to look up to recount them. “Copernicus, Newton, Franklin, Edison and Einstein.” As he spoke, he motioned to the DeLorean’s hood, and opened it. From within, he began to pull out small shafts and bent pistons from it, and handed them to Jennifer who arranged them on the table.  
She nodded, impressed. “Nice. You have a dog named Einstein in the future,” she said, forgetting his earlier aversion to being informed about the future.   
He didn’t seem to mind, however. “I’ve had Copernicus here for five years now,” he said. At the mention of his name, the dog lying in the basket in the corner looked upwards.  
“Copernicus correctly theorized that the earth revolved round the sun, right?” asked Jennifer. “And then the Catholic Church set him on fire?” She and Doc were lifting the majority of the remaining engine from the car, and heaving it over to the bench.   
“A somewhat simplistic view of his scientific achievements, but yes, essentially.”   
“Cool,” panted Jennifer, as they set the machinery down. 

***

About fifteen minutes later, the engine lay in much smaller pieces on the bench. This way, it was easier to see the exact sections that needed replacing. About half of the pistons were still fine, but a few were badly bent, and others had been mangled beyond repair. Almost all of the piston rings were damaged or missing, but at least two were in usable condition, and could be used as a template for the replacements.  
After working in comfortable silence for this time, Doc Brown spoke up. “I’ve been thinking about Marty’s parents,” he said. “We need to get them together, and soon. Marty is still fading away.”  
“It won’t be easy,” said Jennifer. “From what I’ve seen, Marty’s dad is a complete wimp, and his mother is gorgeous. She’s probably one of the most popular girls in Hill Valley.”  
“Then that could be an issue,” said Doc. “How did they originally meet?”  
“I think Marty said Loraine’s dad hit him with the car, and so Loraine felt sorry for him…” she trailed off.  
“What?”  
Guilt gripped Jennifer’s heart. “I pushed George out of the way. He should have been hit by the car…It’s all my fault.”  
The Doc looked over at her. “You couldn’t have known,” was all he said.   
Jennifer wracked her brains for any more information. Marty didn’t really talk that much about his parents, and his mother really didn’t seem to like Jennifer. Still, he’d mentioned how they met – in a joking, offhand way, and Jennifer could remember that there was a second part to that story. But what was it?  
She snapped her fingers as the memory suddenly resurfaced. “Bingo! They went to a dance together – it was the prom, or something like that. They have to go together!”  
“You have to convince Marty’s mother to go with his father,” said Doc. “I’ll enroll you at the school this afternoon so that you can start tomorrow.”  
A small smile appeared on Jennifer’s face. “What do kids wear in the ‘50s?” she asked.

***


	3. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Doc and Jen plan how they're going to set Loraine and George up.

“I don’t know about this,” said Doc. Jennifer, however, wasn’t listening. She was running up and down the aisles of the clothing shop, grabbing large shirts and whisper-soft cardigans and holding them up against her, admiring the way they twirled and swayed as she moved. After examining each one, she tossed it over her shoulder, in mad excitement, where Doc had to clumsily catch them. He waddled after her, laden down with the piles and piles of fabric he was toting. Jennifer laughed as she raced down to the change rooms, with the Doc struggling to catch up behind her.  
“Hurry up!” she grinned, pulling the change room curtain back and forth impatiently.  
Doc Brown huffed and grumbled, but he eventually made his way towards her, dumping the clothes into her hands. The woman at the front door had give them a strange look – especially Jennifer, whose clothes she eyes suspiciously – but Jennifer explained that she was staying in town with her uncle for a week or so after living in England for a year. The woman seemed to accept this story without contest, showing them where the latest fashion for young ladies was kept.   
Jennifer threw the curtain back across as she went to try on the outside. Doc waited awkwardly outside, not quite sure what the correct protocol was.   
“So,” said Jennifer, taking off her jacket and top, “What are we going to do about Marty’s parents?”  
Doc leaned against the wooden partition between the change rooms. The store was deserted expect for tem and the sales woman, who nevertheless stood hopefully near the entrance. “Well, what do they like to do together? What are their common interests?”  
Jennifer took off the pajama top she’d been wearing underneath, and picked up one of the bras she’d selected. It was weirdly pointy and stiff, and seeing herself in the mirror, she began to laugh. “I don’t know,” she said, a moment later. “Marty’s mother seemed to really hate me, back in 1985. She drank a lot. I don’t know if she regretted marrying George, per se, but I’m not so sure she’s thrilled with the way her life turned out.”  
Doc opened his pocket and examined the photo within. Marty’s head was slowly vanishing, down to his nose. He could only hope Jennifer could convince them to go together to this dance, or the boy could be in serious trouble.   
“If they got together before,” Doc said. “Then I’m sure we can get them together again. I mean, love is only…” He broke off, struck by a sudden idea.  
“What? What is it?” asked Jennifer.  
“Love is only chemicals,” breathed Doc, eyes wide in amazement. “Great Scott! That’s right. Seratonin, Dopamine, maybe I could add a bit of Testosterone to the mix…Yes, yes! Love is only chemicals!”  
Jennifer snorted from within the change room. “Wow,” she said, sarcastically. “You’re such a romantic!”  
Doc just ignored her. “If we can create a chemical composition of such a nature and administer it to his parents…”  
“A love potion?” asked Jennifer, buttoning a soft blue cardigan over a white blouse.  
He pulled a face, although Jennifer couldn’t see it. “Of course not! Such a thing is a scientific impossibility! No, what I’m talking about is more of a proximity-based “attraction” chemical. All we need t do is get them alone together and administer the drug.”  
“Easy there, Stephen King,” Jennifer said, alarmed. “What exactly do you mean – ‘administer the drug’?”  
“Who is Stephen King?”  
“Nevermind,” said Jennifer. She pulled on the sensible black shoes she’d chosen. They were a little snug, but they didn’t rub or chafe when she walked. Bending over, she pulled up her socks and the stood up so she could straighten her cream and blue poodle skirt. She took a deep breath in and flung back the curtain.  
“What do you think?” she grinned.  
Doc Brown looked her up and down. She wore smart black shoes, tall white socks, a long, thick shirt that swung around her calves as she walked, and a white blouse under a thin blue cardigan. A small smile played at his lips. “You look lovely,” he awkwardly replied.  
“Why, thank you!” she said, spinning so her skirt twirled every which way. “I love it!” She stopped so she could look down and examine the fabric, gently feeling it in her fingers. When she looked back up again, Doc was still smiling down at her. A moment later, he shook his head as if to clear it, and began to talk again. Jennifer ducked back behind the curtain to try on her other selections.  
“How are we gonna make it?’ asked Jennifer. “The potion, that is.”  
“It’s not a potion,” corrected Doc. “We might not even have to, if you can get them together tomorrow. However, if it’s really bad, I might need to start engineering such a chemical concentration.” He paused. Jennifer could tell that there was something he really wanted to ask her about, so she waited in silence as she pulled off her blue shirt in favor of one that was pastel green.  
“How long have I known Marty?” asked the Doc, eventually.   
Jennifer examined herself in the full-length mirror. “I thought you weren’t supposed to know about your future,” she said.  
Doc sighed. “Alright, then. How long have you known Marty?”  
Jennifer’s fingers fumbled at the buttons on her cardigan. “I met him in primary school,” she explained. “But we didn’t start dating until high school.”  
“And how long have you been dating now?” asked Doc.  
“About two years.”  
“And what do you two do together?” he asked, then added, “So we can get some ideas to set Loraine and George up together, on some sort of activity before the dance.”  
Jennifer smiles to herself as she pulled on a soft chiffon shirt, light as a feather upon her skin. “Well, Marty’s in this great band, so I go to watch them practice sometimes.”  
“What else?”  
“Well,” said Jennifer. “We talk, we eat, we-”  
“That’s it!” said Doc, “We’ll place them in some sort of nutrients-based social paradigm.”  
It took Jennifer a few seconds to translate this in her head. “A café?” she asked, eventually.  
“Exactly,” said Doc Brown. “Some sort of food-centric social interaction should enable us to administer the chemical compound. All you have to do is arrange to meet them both at the-”  
“-Café-”  
“-And then add the compound to their food.”  
After admiring herself in the mirror for a few more seconds, Jennifer began to get changed back, gathering all of the things she wanted to buy in her arms. She swung back to the curtain. “How am I supposed to do that, Doc,” she said, eyes wide and mildly accusing. “Just sprinkle some onto their fillet mignon before they start to eat?” Her eyes seemed to glow greener the more sarcastic she was being at any given moment.  
Doc shook his head. “We’ll figure out the details later. Right now I’ll have to go enroll you in the school, so you can befriend Jennifer. George should be easier to convince, if he’s anything like you say.”  
The two of them made their way up to the counter together. As they got closer to the woman, they lowered their voices to hushed whispers.   
“He will be,” said Jennifer. “Don’t you worry about that.” She dumped the large pile of clothes onto the counter. For the first time, the woman smiled, as she began to type prices into her register. Doc sighed as he saw the total, and pulled out his wallet. Jennifer grinned up at him as he handed over the money. He didn’t look as annoyed as he wanted to, he could tell. A smile kept appearing on his lips, no matter how hard he tried to suppress it.  
Once they’d paid, Jennifer danced out of the store, leaving the Doc to carry the bags – with some difficulty, out onto the street.   
“I noticed,” he panted after her, “That you never mentioned the types of science you and Marty do together.”  
Jennifer laughed, but her eyes were still humorless. She didn’t look back as she replied airily, “No, Marty doesn’t really like science. I mean, he thinks what you do is cool, don’t get me wrong. He’s just not personally interested in it, that’s all.” She paused, then added in as light a tone as possible; “I don’t think he even knows who Tesla is!”  
Although her tone was jovial, the Doc stopped. “Wait here,” he said,” dumping the bags into Jennifer’s arms. He pulled his hat slightly lower over his face, and made his way quickly into a nearby building – Jennifer recognized it as a much newer version of the Hilly Valley Library from 1985.   
A moment later, the Doc dashed out, hat held low, his fast walk threatening to turn into a run. “Go, go,” he hissed, and unquestioningly, Jennifer matched his brisk pace as they power-walked down the street towards Doc’s car, both occasionally casting glances over their shoulders.   
Jennifer was out of breath by the time they’d made it. She threw the bags in the back and threw herself into the passenger seat. Doc umped into the driver’s seat and pulled away as fast as he could. Both were gasping slightly, and Jennifer was laughing.   
“What was that about?” she asked as they sped off towards Doc’s mansion.  
He didn’t reply, only reached into his coat and pulled out a torn and slightly crumpled page. He held it out to Jennifer, she examined it closely.   
It was a black-and-white picture of Tesla, clearly from some old reference book. Jennifer began to laugh harder now, tracing the torn left hand side of the border with her fingers.   
“You’re insane!” she yelled, over the whistling wind.  
“I know!” he yelled back, and he began to laugh too. 

***


	4. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jen goes to school and hangs out with Loraine (and George, kind of...)

Jennifer shouldered her backpack uncomfortably. A melee of students pushed past her into the school, their shiny dark and blonde heads catching the harsh sterile lights of the school corridor. Her heart hammered painfully in her chest.  
“Hi!”  
Jennifer turned in surprise, only to see Loraine standing beside her in a purple dress, clutching a white bag and a pile of books. She looked so sweet and innocent to Jennifer – so unlike the woman back in ’85 who hated her so much while she was dating Marty.  
Doing her best to push aside these jarring images, Jennifer smiled back. “Hi.”  
“Are you new here?” Loraine didn’t wait for her to reply. “I can show you to your classes if you like.”  
On the inside, Jen was grinning. “Thanks!” she said, only partially faking her enthusiasm. “That would be great.” She looked down at the schedule that the secretary – an old woman, who Jennifer didn’t recognize, and therefore must have retired before Jennifer’s attendance in the future – had given her. “I have science first, with Mr. Rhodman,” she said, “in C3.”  
“That’s great!” smiled the young Loraine. “Me too. I’ll show you the way.” She began to lead Jennifer down the corridor.   
Although the school was much newer looking, very little had changed in its internal layout. A-block and B-block had been named alternately, and one of the home economics rooms was a staff room, bout otherwise things seemed pretty similar. Without really noticing, she moved past Loraine in the corridor as the bell went and throngs of reluctant students pushed past the pair. Jennifer stopped in front of C3 without any indication to do so from Loraine, who might’ve thought it odd if she weren’t so preoccupied chattering away.  
“-And so I said to Marcy that I would try to convince my dad,” Loraine prattled, as the two entered the room, “But he’s probably going to say no way. I never get to do anything fun – and practically the whole town in going, except for me, probably - ”  
Loraine sat at a desk near the window, and Jennifer followed her lead. The soft spring sun was making good headway in its path across the sky, casting dappled shadows across the white window frame of the classroom and onto the desk.  
As the teacher – presumably Mr. Rhodman – entered the classroom, the students stood up, in a bizzare displays that Jennifer had never seen before. She quickly followed their lead. As the teacher put his books on the desk, and nodded at them, they all sat down again.  
“We have a new student,” said the teacher, walking to the front of the classroom again. “Jennifer Parker.” As her parents wouldn’t arrive in hilly valley until much later, Jennifer had used her real name without much fear.  
Rhodman’s gaze bore into her, and she felt uncomfortably warm under the close scrutiny of the class. Someone wolf-whistled at the back, and small busts of giggled erupted. Mr. Rhodman quelled all of this with a fierce glare. After a moment or two of this  
As Jennifer looked around the class, the noticed that they were all white. She knew that her school had never been a beacon of diversity, even in 1985, but this, she reminded herself, was before the civil rights movement had started. It startled her, all of a sudden, how much things had changed in those thirty years.  
She sat with Loraine and her friends for the lesson. Mr. Rhodman didn’t come over much, but looked at Jen’s alkaline solution approvingly. It irked her, though; as he used a snotty-nosed boy’s as the prime example, even though she was convinced her was superior – showing almost no crystallization. She bit her tongue, however, and etched a colorful variety of curse words under the desk by dipping her gloves finger in the solution and tracing them onto the wood. In a few hours there would be deep, irreversible grooves.  
Loraine’s hair was pulled back into a high dark ponytail that swished around her neck as they talked at lunch. Jen could see why George was in love with her. Speaking of George, she could see his greasy head bent over a notebook on the other side of the cafeteria.   
“My dad is never going to let me go,” Jennifer told a blonde girl called Marcy. “My mother told me she’d talk to him, but with her getting ready for the new baby and everything, I guess she just forgot. It’s this Friday, right?”  
“Right,” Marcy said. “There’s no way your father is going to say yes?”  
“I doubt it.”  
“What about you, Jen?” asked Marcy, snapping Jennifer out of her mental planning. “Can you come this Friday?”  
Something occurred to Jennifer. “My uncle’s pretty strict,” she lied, laughing internally as she pictured Doc – her “uncle” who had enrolled her yesterday – being strict. “How about you and I hang out, Jennifer? If your dad won’t let you go, he might at least let you get milkshakes with me at Lou’s café.”  
“That’s a great idea!” grinned Loraine. “I’ll ask him this afternoon!”  
“Perfect,” whispered Jennifer, under her breath.

***

After school, Jennifer raced to grab George by the arm. He was waiting for his dad to pick him up, around the back of the school to avoid running into Biff.   
“Hey!” he cried out, in surprise and pain as Jennifer’s fingers clasped his thin arm.  
“Hey yourself!” she snapped back. “Remember me? I’m the girl who saved your life.” George’s eyes widened in recollection, and his lower lip began to tremble, almost comically. “Don’t blubber,” said Jennifer, “I know why you were there. It’s Loraine isn’t it?” He lowered his head in hangdog shame, and nodded wordlessly. “Well, I can help you.”  
“Really?” he whispered, his voice hoarse. “How?”  
“Just trust me. Come to Lou’s café this Friday. I’ll be there with her, and ask you to join us. We’ll have a milkshake together, and you can ask her to the dance. You do want to ask her, don’t you?”  
He nodded again.  
“Great,” said Jennifer, and ran off before he could say any more.  
It was Monday, the 6th of November, 1955.

***


	5. Chapter 4+5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ok, because of the prelude my Chapter number is annoyingly off. In order to fix this, this is technically considered two chapters despite the fact that it's no longer than any of the others. I've done this for logistical reasons and because the inconsistency annoys me! Sorry!  
> Also: This may be slightly inappropriate(?) for super-young audience as it does have contraceptives, but not in use, or even dwelled upon.   
> This is where the romance builds a bit more. Hope you enjoy. Next chapter will have a similar focus on relationship development, and also MORE SCIENCE!!!! (and engineering) which I am super psyched about!   
> Thanks for reading :)
> 
>  
> 
> P.S Yes I know spaceballs wasn't released until 1987 but whatever... in this universe it officially came out in '85!

That afternoon, Jennifer once more lay on the roof of the now-partially-fixed DeLorean. The weather was beautiful, warm and sunny. Whipped-cream clouds were dolloped around the blue azure of the sky, as yet unbruised with the promise of rain. Sunlight poured through the open windows of the lab/garage, and Jennifer had her 1985 outfit on, the sleeves of her shirt rolled up as far as they would go. Doc also wore a short sleeved shirt, with a bright, jarring pattern on it. He hunched over a particularly tricky repair job on the floor – a chamber in the engine had collapsed in on itself, meaning that they’d have to fix this before they could re-fit the valves, which may not work any more because of the changed area they’d have to work with.   
Jennifer sat up, her blonde hair swishing around her in a waterfall of gold. She looked over at the corner of the room. There was a safe she hadn’t really noticed before, so she jumped up and tried to open it, but the door was locked.  
“What’s the combination to this?” she called over her shoulder.   
“Nevermind that, nevermind that,” he said. “Come and help me with this!”  
She ignored him, going over and turning the knob until she’d entered the code 1-2-3-4-5. The door clicked once more as the tumblers fell, and the door swung open. Just as she’d thought. A scatterbrained (and extremely neurotic) guy like Doc wouldn’t change the code form the presets. She’d seen the safe store on the way home from school, with the safes all in the window, with their preset codes all set to this combination so potential buyers could try.  
“It’s the kind of thing an idiot would have on his luggage!” she quoted quietly to herself, grinning as she examined the contents of the safe.   
Inside were hundreds and hundreds of what looked like tiny spice mix packets, but as she held them in the light she could see the faint indent of a ring…  
“What are you doing?”  
Jennifer jumped at the voice behind her, spinning around to see a bemused Doc. Her heart was racing and her face was red at being caught.  
Always on the offensive, Jennifer asked, “What’s with all these?”  
Now it was Doc’s turn to go red. “None of your business.”  
“Oh my God!” laughed Jennifer, flicking it over his shoulder onto the floor. She turned around and grabbed and armful of the wrapped condoms, before dashing around the room.  
“Come here!” panted Doc, trying to keep up with her as she jumped onto couches and chairs and ran across the DeLorean roof, sprinkling them as she went. “They were for an experiment – I needed something with greater tensile strength than your average water balloon and an elongated shape. Unfortunately, the machine failed and these things – I’m not sure about in the future – are considered very embarrassing. They’re seen to promote sex out of wedlock! I wasn’t sure how to get rid of them!”  
“Yeah, right!” laughed Jennifer, her bare toes tickled by the plush chair underneath them as she held a few above her head, as Doc tried to jump to reach them. She was laughing, and so was he, big wheezing bursts of laughter right from the gut.  
Giving up on reaching the elevated contraceptives, he grabbed her around her waist as she squealed in delight, pulling her off the chair. She flicked the contraceptive into his face, so he let her go enough for her to find her giddy footing, slipping on the piles of them. She grabbed and armful and tossed them into the air. Incapacitated with laughter, Doc grabbed and bunch and threw them at Jennifer who laughed and ducked and dodged as the two chased each other around the room in a bizarre take on a snowball fight.  
The lab was a mess. Condoms were scattered everywhere, chairs and couches were upturned. Almost every horizontal surface had at least a dozen of the little packets on them. Doc grabbed Jennifer once more under his arm, in a surprisingly easy movement for a man of his physique. She laughed and cried out in mock protest as he hoisted her upwards so that their faces were inches from each other.  
Both of them were sweaty, out of breath and panting, their hearts beating quickly within their respective ribcages. The sunlight illuminated Doc’s bright brown eyes, and as their smiles slowly lowered, Jennifer was painfully aware of the sweetness of Doc’s breath, coming from the mouth that was so close to hers. Instinctively, she leaned in, but he pulled away, his eyes suddenly downcast. “We…we should probably get this cleaned up.”  
Jennifer suddenly felt very hollow inside. Something had passed between them, and wordlessly they shoved the tiny packets back into the safe, which they closed with a resounding thud. Jennifer couldn’t shake the feeling that something was irreversibly difference, as if she’d opened Pandora’s box and had to watch helplessly as all of the things contained fluttered out into the world.   
The worst part?  
She’d enjoyed setting them free.

***


End file.
